Memoirs of a Good Ol' Boy

Ever since I made a proclamation of integrity and erased all the illegally downloaded music from my computer years ago, I have not received the amount of country music that I wish kissed my ears.

But today, yes today, while in Cairo, Egypt listening to the DJ spout off some quips in Greek my inattentive audio assessors arched when this good ol’ country boy recognized a memorable melody that perked my now cropped antennas.

This one reason why I love this place. Though I do not have ready access to a new Bible (of which I am coming close to needing with Matthew 5 – Luke 9 threatening canonical expatriate status), country music now climbs the ranks of Americanism significantly available to the international community. American country music on a Greek radio station in Cairo, Egypt. If you are ever in Egypt tune into 97.5 FM LOVE Radio

“I’m buildin bridges / straight to your heart. / And all of this distance / won’t keep us apart. / Won’t keep us apart.”

That one goes out to one very special young lady.


On a completely unrelated note, tonight we met again for our weekly middle school event after a two-week break. The straw drawn for speaking about “What is Scripture?” lucked its destiny in my hands. After scourging the mind with some free writing on the subject, one main idea finally impressed me enough to be the elected as the central subject. Seeking the counsel of the Holy Spirit as to bring praise to the glory of God served as an intelligent avenue of guidance. So we all listened, self included to what words drove off this tongue. As it turns out, Scripture lives not just as the story of some old dead people who had some incredulous tales of spiritual experience, but Scripture lives as our story today. You who read this now, as an individual, it is your story. The people who raised you, i.e. parents, grandparents, all your family, you friends, your children, your children’s children, it is all of our story. It is your name written in that holy Script.

These men and women of faith (Rahab, King David, Christ and Paul), these are your family, your ancestors from whom you have learned the path set before you. Have you ever wondered what will happen to you? Look in the Gospels. Do you have days when you don’t have the words to explain how you feel? Flip the pages to the Psalms. If you’ve had dark days of pain, skim over Ecclesiastes. This is your story. Your identity is rooted in the identity of God’s prostitutes and prophets. God’s identity is rooted in the identity of these prostitutes and prophets. Kings and drunkards, sometimes both.


You are in this story. When you find yourself paused by the curiosity of the inquisition of humanity, I encourage you to pick up one of these tiny books and give it a glance. I promise you won’t walk away with some insight; it may not be the one you wanted to hear but insight nonetheless. This is your story. Love and rejection, love and rejection, over and over and over and over. This is Scripture; your life.